Bringing Bonnie Back
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Scarlett would do anything in the world to get Rhett to come back and stay, even the unthinkable. Not for the faint of heart.
1. The Coffin

He was a carpetbagger, an opportunist from the North. Yet she'd heard the wares he sold were able to work incredible wonders, and Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler was a desperate woman.

"As long as there was Bonnie, there was hope." Those had been Rhett's exact words right before he'd walked away from her. Was there a chance she could bring hope back?

The door made a tinkling sound as she entered Vendredi's Antiques to see Lewis Vendredi himself standing behind the counter. "My dear lady." He smiled and bowed. "I've been expecting you. I believe I have just what you need." Before Scarlett could respond, he walked toward the back of the store and returned with a small white coffin.

Scarlett listened as he explained how the magic worked. There would be a price to pay, but she'd expected that. If she, Rhett, and Bonnie could be reunited as a family, she knew it would be worth it.

She purchased the coffin, took it home, and placed it in the bedroom that had been her small daughter's. When everything was dark and still, she took her lantern and shovel and headed for the cemetery. Once there, she followed the familiar path to her destination.

'Bonnie Blue Butler, 1869-1873' read the headstone. The familiar melancholy settled over Scarlett, but she brushed it aside as she concentrated on her mission. Sinking the shovel's tip into the moist earth, she began to dig.

It was exhausting work. Her fingers developed blisters, but she struggled on, and at last she heard the shovel hit a hard surface. As soon as she had the coffin unearthed, she fought to lift it from the ground.

"Oh, Bonnie," she whispered as she gazed at the pine box which encased her daughter's body. Tears came to her eyes as she remembered Bonnie's sparkling blue eyes, her smiling face. What would she look like after all this time in the ground?

She had to use the shovel to pry the coffin's lid open. The stench was overpowering, and she had to wait for her stomach to settle before holding the lantern over the child.

The dress Bonnie had been buried in still looked new, but her face was covered with black mold. Scarlett used a handkerchief to wipe away as much of it as possible, then lifted the limp body. It wasn't at all unlike holding a twenty five pound bag of flour.

The following evening, Scarlett donned her nicest dress and made up her face to look like that of one of Belle Watling's girls, then went out. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for.

She waited outside the bedroom door, covering her ears with her hands so she couldn't hear the obscene chomping and slurping noises. After awhile, Bonnie emerged from the room, looking just as she had on her fourth birthday.

"Hi, Mommy."


	2. Goodnight, Sweet Bonnie

"Oh, Bonnie! I missed you _so much!"_ Scarlett rushed to the little girl and gathered her into her arms, crushing the crinoline of her dress. Bonnie's arms came up and encircled her neck. How she'd missed her daughter's fresh, sweet aroma!

"Where's Daddy?" asked Bonnie.

"He went away for a little while, but he'll be back soon." She glanced at the blue uniform and skeleton lying on the floor. Bonnie had been so ravenous she'd ripped the buttons off the coat.

"I want to go outside and play!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Well...I suppose that would be all right, as long as you wear this sunbonnet."

"I never had to wear a sunbonnet before!"

"Well, things are different now, as you know. We can't take a chance on the wrong person seeing you."

Bonnie sighed. "All right."Scarlett watched as she skipped happily outside. It's going to be just like it was before, she told herself. Just look at her, beautiful and sweet as ever! As soon as Rhett lays eyes on her, he'll fall in love with her again and _have_ to stay! We'll be a family again - I just know it!

Lunchtime arrived, and Scarlett made sandwiches for herself and her daughter, then called Bonnie in. The little girl looked at the sandwich with disdain, then wrinkled her nose.

"What's the matter? You used to _love_ corned beef!"

"You can have mine."

Bonnie refused to eat dinner as well, but she did consent to changing into a nightgown and getting ready for bed. As Scarlett tucked her in, she reflected on how she'd taken such joys for granted in the past and swore that she never would again.

"Goodnight, sweet Bonnie," she said as she kissed the warm, soft forehead.

"Goodnight, Mommy."

"I love you, precious girl."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Before blowing out the candle, Scarlett collected the aforementioned items from the floor, grabbed her lantern and shovel, then took them out to the back yard and buried them.

For several days, Scarlett spent almost all her time watching her daughter at play, but one morning, she realized she'd have to go to the general store and was faced with a dilemma. What would she do with Bonnie? She couldn't just leave her playing in the back yard - could she?

At last she had an idea.

"All your dolls are sick today, Bonnie," she told the little girl. "They need for you to stay home and take care of them until they get better. I have to go somewhere, but I'll be back in just a few minutes."

"All right, Mommy."

Scarlett made sure the door was locked, then walked to the store. "Why, hello there, Scarlett!" exclaimed Honey Wilkes. "I haven't seen you in awhile! How's Rhett?"

"He's fine, just fine." Scarlett picked up a basket and began to collect her purchases. She found a bag of horehound candy sticks and remembered how much Bonnie used to love them. At the same time, she couldn't help overhearing a conversation between Mrs. Dolly Merriweather and Mrs. Meade.

"Just disappeared right out of the blue!" Mrs. Merriweather exclaimed. "Not that anyone around here would consider a Yankee soldier to be much of a loss - _I_ certainly don't - but it was just so strange!"

"And the last anyone saw of him, he was near the Butler place?"

"So I heard, whatever that has to do with anything."

Suddenly eager to return home, Scarlett waited impatiently for the cashier to ring up her purchases. She returned home to find Bonnie busily looking after her dolls, as if they were alive.

"Look what I brought you!" Scarlett held up the bag of candy. Bonnie gave it a brief glance, then returned to her dolls.

Disappointed and a bit worried, Scarlett put the candy and her other purchases away, then went about her daily business.

Things were fine for awhile, but then at about two o'clock one night, Scarlett was awakened by her daughter's screaming. Thinking Bonnie must be having a nightmare, she raced to her room to comfort her, only to find her sitting up in bed with a strange look in her eyes, one Scarlett had never seen before but which chilled her to the bottom of her soul.

"I'm hungry, Mommy!" Bonnie wailed.

Scarlett remembered Louis Vendredi's words and rushed to hold her daughter. "Sh, it's all right, sweetheart. I'll get you what you need."

"Please hurry, Mommy!" Scarlett saw that Bonnie's skin was beginning to crack, and her head was slumped over at a strange angle. Panic sent her running out of the house and into the street. However would she find what she needed at this hour of the night? she asked herself.

As if in answer to her question, she saw a drunk staggering along the road, so sotted he could barely stand. She glanced around and spied a large rock by the side of the road. Not allowing herself to think about what she was doing, she snatched the rock up and began hitting the drunk over the head with abandon, not stopping until his head was a bloody mess. Then she grabbed his feet and began to pull him toward the house, praying that she wasn't too late.


	3. The Picnic

On the day Rhett returned, Scarlett was standing at the sink doing the dishes and Bonnie was in her bedroom, playing. Scarlett watched as his figure drew closer, silently saying a prayer of thanks that her daughter had been fed the night before. When she heard him open the door, she dashed to the living room.

"Why, Rhett! What a nice surprise!"

I told you I'd come around often enough to keep talk down."

"Daddy!" They both turned to see the small figure standing in the doorway, and the next moment, she was in Rhett's arms and he was hugging her with all his might.

"I knew you'd come back to me!"

"Of course I did, sweetheart."

"And now that you're here again, we can be happy again and have ever so much fun!"

As Rhett and Bonnie romped and played together, Scarlett felt as if she'd been transported back in time to before the tragedy. It seemed as if everything she'd lost had been returned to her, and for a few short hours, she was at peace. Toward sundown, Rhett finally stood and dusted himself off.

"Whew! You wear a body out! Aren't you ready for a little rest?"

"No, Daddy! I want you to play with me some more!" Bonnie's eyes flashed with anger as Rhett just stared at her, taken aback.

"All right, for just a little longer." Rhett's voice sounded tired, resigned. Scarlett could tell he was flagging, but Bonnie was still going strong, as if she'd just begun playing. At last Rhett lay on his back on the floor with his eyes shut, and Scarlett intervened.

"I think we need to let Daddy rest, sweetheart. He had to travel a long way today, and he's very tired. It's your bedtime, anyway."

"OK, Mommy."

Scarlett took her daughter into the bedroom, put her nightgown on her, read her a bedtime story, and tucked her in. When she returned to the living room, she saw that Rhett was sitting on the sofa and didn't look the least bit tired.

"How'd you do it, Scarlett?" he asked her.

"It's that new shop on the edge of town, Vendredi's Antiques," she told him. "I'd heard some of the women in town talking about it, so I went to see it for myself. The owner sold me a child's coffin. He told me the body of a dead child placed inside it becomes a living child."

"At what price?"

"All I have to do is catch little animals for her to eat - rabbits, squirrels, possums, things like that. Are you staying the night?"

"Come now, Scarlett. Do you seriously think I would go away and leave my resurrected daughter behind?"

Scarlett was shaking with anticipation. "Will you come to my bedroom?"

Rhett frowned. "I was never invited there before. Why now?"

"Because I've _missed_ you, Rhett!"

"I'll stay in my own room, thank you very much." He took a step in that direction, and Scarlett felt her hopes deflate. "Also, I want to see this trap in which you catch these live animals for Bonnie to eat."

Scarlett sighed. "There's no trap, Rhett. But it's only been Yankee soldiers. I swear it has!"

One of Rhett's eyebrows shot up, and he gave a knowing chuckle. "Of course, Scarlett. But have you thought about what will happen when they're all gone?"

"Why, Washington will just send more - won't they?"

Rhett turned and walked into his bedroom without answering her.

The next day, the family went on a picnic in a secluded part of the forest, where they'd be unlikely to meet up with anyone who knew them. Bonnie played in the river while her parents sat on a quilt and ate fried chicken with rolls and salad. The little girl wandered so far out into water that her mother grew alarmed.

"Bonnie!" she shrieked, and when her daughter turned around, Scarlett saw the large fish she held in her mouth, the blood running copiously down her chin.

Calmly she walked toward her parents as she took the fish into her hands and bit from it. Scarlett felt as if she were about to faint, and even Rhett looked perturbed.

Oh, well, maybe that'll satisfy her for awhile at least, Scarlett told herself. The picnic continued with no further incidents, and they were almost home when Bonnie let out a familiar wail.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

As her head drooped and large ulcers appeared all over her skin, both her parents panicked. Then Scarlett thought of something and began to calm down.

"You haven't even seen your Aunt Suellen since you came back, Bonnie. I think it's about time we invited her over for a visit. Don't you?"


	4. Close Call

"What you have to show me better be pretty darn important," Suellen grumbled as she trudged after her older sister.

"Oh, it _is!"_ Scarlett insisted. "It's actually somebody I want you to meet!"

Suellen giggled. "Don't tell me you have a man on the side!"

"Just wait and see!"

They arrived to find Rhett holding his daughter in his lap. His eyes were glassy and held a faraway, haunted look. Bonnie was slumped against him, hardly moving at all, but Scarlett could see the ever-so-slight rise and fall of her chest.

"What _is_ this?" Suellen's eyes were narrow slits as she grabbed her sister's arm and spun her around to look into her face. "Did you steal some sick orphan from a hospital to take Bonnie's place?"

"Bonnie!" Scarlett shouted. "Look who I brought for you - your Aunt Suellen!"

Rheumy blue eyes turned toward her voice and began to shine with an eager determination.

"No!" Suellen shouted as she turned and ran back toward her own home.

"Come back!" Scarlett shouted, beginning to sprint after her, but the adrenaline surging through Suellen's body gave her a head start, and she'd soon left her sister far behind.

Scarlett's heart began to sink, until she saw a grey cat run across the road in front of her, followed by a scrawny woman with colorless, mousy hair.

"Here, kitty kitty! Here, kitty kitty!" the woman cawed.

"It went that way," Scarlett told her, pointing toward her own home. "Come on, I'll help you find it."

The woman looked at her with grateful eyes and fell into step behind her. Relief settled over Scarlett as she led the other woman toward the back porch, where Rhett sat with a barely-conscious Bonnie. At the women's approach, the child sprang to life.

After the stranger's startled cry, nothing was heard for a long time but the most sickening gulping and smacking noises. Unable to watch, Rhett and Scarlett turned away. When Bonnie was finished, all that was left were a few bones and shreds of cloth, but the little girl was once again beautiful and glowing with health.

Rhett and Scarlett looked at one another. "We can't go on like this." Rhett's voice was tired, defeated. "We both know how wrong it is."

"But she's our _child,_ our precious darling!" Scarlett protested. "Wouldn't you do anything in the world for her?"

"You know I love her more than life itself." His dark eyes were pools of agony. "But all these other lives - it's too high a price to pay, and besides, you know she'll never be a normal child again. You remember what she was like before as well as I do. Do you really think she'd want to live like this?"

Deep down inside, Scarlett knew her husband was right, but she wasn't ready to face the truth. She held her hand out to her daughter. "Come on, Bonnie. Let's go inside."

No one suspected that, safely hidden behind a clump of bushes, a pair of eyes had witnessed the entire event.

* * *

Throughout the long night, Scarlett tossed and turned in her lonely bed, unable to sleep a wink. She'd been so desperate to bring Bonnie back she hadn't even considered the long-term consequences of doing so. What would they do when the entire population of Atlanta was depleted - move on to another town? Would Bonnie remain a child forever, or would she grow and mature as she normally would have? If the former turned out to be the case, who would care for her and provide the sustenance she needed when Scarlett was no longer able to?

The family was awakened the following morning by loud banging on the door. Rhett opened it to confront the county sheriff and a couple of deputies.

"Rhett Butler?" asked the sheriff. Rhett nodded.

"We've come to ask you and your wife some questions about some, er, rather unusual activities that were seen occurring on your property yesterday evening. May we please come in?"

"Of course!"

Rhett stepped aside so the law enforcement officials could enter as Scarlett and Bonnie appeared.

The sheriff gaped at the child. "Is _this_ your daughter?"

"Yes," Rhett and Scarlett replied.

The sheriff and his deputies exchanged glances, and then the sheriff shook his head. "Must have been the ravings of a lunatic. This little girl couldn't possibly have done what she was accused of doing. We'll be on our way, folks. Sorry to have wasted your time."

Rhett and Scarlett both let out huge sighs of relief after they'd left. "Whew, that was close!" Rhett remarked.

Scarlett nodded. _"Too_ close. Oh, Rhett, whatever shall we do?"


	5. Visiting Beau

"But he's my _friend!"_ Bonnie argued.

"I know he _was_ your friend, but that was before," Scarlett replied. "Beau thinks you're dead, sweetheart. We have to give him time to get used to things being the way they are now. Maybe you can play with him in a few weeks."

"I want to play with him _now!"_ Bonnie's hands were on her hips, and her eyes were blazing. Scarlett felt a chill go down her spine.

"All right," she said quickly. "How about if I stop at the store on the way? I can buy some candy for you to take to him."

"Hurray!" Bonnie shouted.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Scarlett turned to leave, but Bonnie blocked her way. "I want to pick out the kind of candy. Daddy always lets me."

"All right, but don't forget to wear your sunbonnet."

Bonnie scowled. "That stupid old thing." Scarlett held her breath until her daughter put the bonnet on and tied its strings under her chin.

As they were walking toward the store, Scarlett was terrified they'd meet up with someone who knew them. They made it to the store without incident, but no sooner had they walked in than there was Mrs. Merriweather, staring at them with her mouth gaping open.

"Why, if I didn't know better, I'd swear that was little Miss Bonnie herself, God rest her soul!"

Scarlett grabbed Bonnie's arm and, pushing past the other woman, headed for the candy counter, where the saleswoman came to meet them. "Can I help you? Oh, what a darling little girl! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Bonnie," Bonnie told her.

"Well." The woman looked puzzled but smiled. "What kind of candy would you like, Bonnie?"

"Some of that...and some of that..." Considering the complete disinterest she'd shown in the horehound candy her mother had brought her only days before, Scarlett was surprised Bonnie had even wanted to come to the store with her. Yet maybe it was a good sign, she told herself. Maybe it meant Bonnie was beginning to return to normal.

Did she dare hope?

The candy purchased, mother and daughter left the store, Bonnie skipping along like any normal little girl. They soon arrived at the Wilkes home, where they saw Beau playing outside.

"Hi, Beau!" Bonnie called.

Beau looked up and turned white as a sheet. Then he ran away as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Come back!" Bonnie took off after her. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

He stopped and turned around. "You ain't a ghost?"

"Of course not!"

"But you look just like Bonnie, and she's dead!"

"I _am_ Bonnie, and I _ain't_ dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Let's go play!"

Scarlett watched as the two children held hands and skipped to their favorite spot beneath a shady tree. Then she turned and started walking home.

She was almost to the corner when she heard Beau scream. Her heart was in her throat as she rushed back to the children, wondering whether the hunger had returned and Bonnie had attacked her friend.

She arrived to find Beau staring at Bonnie, his eyes wide with horror. Bonnie's skin had turned a ghastly green, and the bones were beginning to peek through. When she spoke, her voice was raspy, as if she had a severe case of laryngitis.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

"Help, Aunt Scarlett! I think she's going to bite me!" Beau ran to hide behind Scarlett.

"Go get your babysitter! Quick!" Scarlett told him.

Beau began to cry. "I can't! I'm afraid Bonnie will hurt her!"

"You _have_ to! Please hurry!"

"Mommy!" Bonnie's voice faded to an echo as she collapsed in a pile of bones and clothing. Beau continued to sob as Scarlett just stared in silence at the pitiful heap that, moments ago, had been her beautiful little girl.

How would she ever explain this to Rhett?


	6. Epilogue

Scarlett watched as Rhett's ax swung over and over at the coffin, until at last he sank to the ground and cried bitterly. She didn't have the heart to tell him that, as it was enchanted, it could never be destroyed. When she approached and tried to comfort him, he pushed her away.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted, and the stark agony in his eyes chilled her soul. "She didn't deserve this! Why couldn't you have just let her rest in peace?"

"I thought I could really bring her back to us for good!" Scarlett cried. "Lewis told me I could, and I believed him! I didn't know the hunger would start coming upon her all the time! He lied to me! He's a devil!"

"No, Scarlett." She'd never seen his eyes look so tired. _"You_ are a devil. To use the black arts to try to force things to go back to being like they used to be - how could you have ever hoped that would work? Our little girl is gone, Scarlett - gone forever, and nothing in the world will ever bring her back." The cold finality of his words sent a chill to her heart. "If you weren't such a child, you could have accepted that fact and moved on, as I did."

"But you were so happy for the little while she was with us again," Scarlett pointed out. "I could tell you were. I thought if I could just give that back to you, it would all be worth it."

"So I could then go through the pain of losing her all over again? Nothing in the world is worth _that."_

Scarlett didn't know what to say. She knew he was right, as he'd always been. What chance had her silly, girlish fantasies ever stood against brutal reality? She knew any apology she could offer would be woefully insufficient. How could he ever love her again, after all the pain and agony she'd brought him?

"Let me draw you a hot bath, Rhett. That'll make you feel better." It was the only thing she could think to offer him.

"Get away from me, Scarlett." He practically spat the words out. "Go away, and _stay_ away. I might have forgiven any number of things, but I could never forgive this. You have literally ripped my heart from my chest and torn it to shreds. I hope you're proud of yourself."

She stared in loathing at the coffin, the object that had promised so much, yet delivered nothing but heartbreak. In her desperation to get her husband and daughter back, she'd lost them both forever.

 _There's always tomorrow._

They were the words she'd clung to in every crisis she'd ever been through. Yet now they seemed only a faint echo, the false hope of joys never to be realized.

Unable to string enough words together to form a coherent sentence, she turned and walked back to her quiet, lonely house, knowing that it would be quiet and lonely for the rest of her life.


End file.
